Joseph hoffacker



JOSEPH HOFFAGKER, OF NEYV YORK. N. Y.

LOCK AND KEY.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 21,952, dated November 2, 1858.

fo all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, JOSEPH Horrnonnn, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful mprovement in Locks and Keys;and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, makingpart of this specification, in which- Figure l is a horizontal view ofthe door,

in which the lock and the bolt hole are inserted; Fig. 2, a verticalsection of the lock; Fig. 3, a front view of the bolt head: Fig. ll, anelevation of the bolt hole; Fig. 5, a section of thebolt hole; Fig. 6, ahorizontal section of the lock; Fig. 7, an elevation of the key.

The same letters of reference denote corresponding parts in thesevarious figures.

The nature of my invention consists in constructing a lock, .which isclosed or locked by the bolt shooting forward and upward simultaneously,and which is opened or unlocked by a screw key urging the bolt downwardand backward.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention l willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

The lock consists of the bolt a, the barrel c, in which the bolt is madeto move, the three springs o, 'n and i which urge the holt forward andupward, and the lever Z by which the lock may be closed on the inside.rlhe bolt a is provided` with a head b which is so formed as tocorrespond with the bit of the screw r, s serving as a key for thislock. The shape of the bolt head is fully shown on the drawings, but thesame may be varied at pleasure; care being only taken, that the parts ofthe same, which are to be touched by the bit, are to be shaped in such amanner, that a certain bit will act as a screw and wedge on the same,thereby lowering the bolt head and urging it back; and that no other bitshall act in the same manner.

The back part of the bolt is surrounded by a spiral spring o which urgesthe bolt forward. The bolt has three notches at e, e in which the sidespring i fits; the said side spring serves to hold the bolt when thesame is thrown back and for this purpose the said spring is brought inconnection with the lever Z so as to facilitate the closing of the lockfrom the inside. The third spring n act-s upon the bolt vertically, thebolt being made slanting, this spring will elevate the bolt when thesame is thrown forward. The lever (Z when drawn backward will cause thespring 'i to release its hold upon the projection at e fr m the notchofthe bolt, thereby allowing the bolt to be urged forward by the spiralspring.

rlhe bolt hole m in the door is so formed as to be lower on the outsidethan on the inside, in such a manner that the head of the bolt may catchthe projection u of the bolt hole when moved upward. This bolt hole ispierced by two key holes f and g. One key hole serves for the outsideand the other for the inside of the door, the one leading to the lower,the other to the upper part of the bolt head. rlhese key-holes are madein the form of female screws and the key r s is screwed into the samewhen the lock is to be opened.

The key consists of the knob or handle g, the stem o and the bit t. Thestem forms a cylinder, on which the main screw r is cut, and anothersmaller cylinder s on which screwthreads are partially cut.

The key is screwed into the key hole by the large screw r. During theprogress made the smaller screw threads will slightly elevate the bolthead until the bit has worked itself into the incision of the bolt head;on continuing the screwing operation the bolthead is pressed down, itshold upon the projection of the bolt hole is released, the side springis forced out of the notch C, the bolt is thrown back to (Z and the sidespring lodges in the notch e, thereby keeping the bolt in its place.

The door handles 7L and 7c turn on an axle but have no direct connectionwith the bolt. These two door handles have such a position, that whenthe outer handle 7a is turned, the inner handle 7L comes in contact withthe lever CZ, throws it back and thereby causes the lock to be shut orlocked. After the bolt is drawn back, the door does not open until agentle pressure is applied to the same.

The peculiar features distinguishing my lock and key from all others inuse are: l. rhe combination of the bolt with the barrel and the threesprings. 2. The construction of the bolt and especially of the bolthead. 3. rlie combination of the door-handles with the lever by whichthe door may be locked without the application of the key. fl. rlheconstruction of the bolt hole, so as to permit the bolt of catching intothe same horizontally and vertically. 5. The two key holes, one .for theuse on the outside, the other for the inside. 6. The construction andoperation of the screw key.

It is evident that this lock has many advantages over those at presentin use especially in the diiiculty of opening or picking the saine by askeleton key. I deem it proper to add that I have represented this lockto be attached to a door, but it may be applied with equal eect tochests, safes, drawers or boxes.

Wlhat l clailn as new and desire to se cure by Letters Patent is:

l. Constructing a lock which is closed or locked by the bolt shootingforward and up- JOSEPH HOFFACKER.

Witnesses:

CHARLES VEHLE, JULIUS VVEHLE.

